US Navy wants to order 20 warships from Wis., Ala.

Production costs for the latest class of warships have come down so much that the U.S. Navy wants to double its planned orders from shipbuilders in Wisconsin and Alabama, Sen. Herb Kohl said Thursday.

The Navy had planned to award a single contract for 10 ships to either Marinette Marine Corp. in Marinette, Wis., or Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. The Democratic senator from Wisconsin said the Navy has told him it now wants to order 10 ships from each company.

"I have spoken to the Secretary of the Navy about this change in strategy and he agrees that it will require congressional approval this year," Kohl said in remarks prepared for an appearance in Milwaukee. "But the initial signs are positive that there will be support to make this change as part of the end-of-year budget."

If Congress doesn't approve the request to submit two orders for 20 ships, the Navy will revert to awarding a single contract for 10 ships, said Lt. Courtney Hillson, a Navy spokeswoman.

The contracts would be for littoral combat ships. The speedy warships are designed to conduct water combat immediately off an enemy's shore. They can be used to hunt submarines and pirates, defend ground troops and support unmanned aerial vehicles such as Predator drones, Kohl said.

The combat ships also are designed for quick modification rather than a single purpose. For example, a ship's anti-submarine package could be swapped out for a mine-warfare package if combat conditions change.

Each contract could create thousands of jobs. Marinette Marine would grow from 800 to 1,800 workers within five years, company spokesman Jim LaCosse said.

A message left with Austal was not immediately returned. However, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama said a local deal would add almost 2,000 jobs in south Alabama for Austal and related suppliers.

The city of Marinette sits on the Wisconsin-Michigan border. About 500 of the new jobs at Marinette Marine would go to Michigan residents, said Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The announcement "is really terrific news for our entire state," he said on a teleconference Thursday.

Both Austal and Marinette Marine would be expected to produce two ships per year for five years. Austal partners with General Dynamics Corp. in Falls Church, Va.

Levin said the Navy hasn't said how much the Marinette and Austal bids were, although he said they came in under the congressional cap of $480 million per ship.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said the state created a $49 million incentive package through tax credits to help Marinette Marine compete for the contract.

The very first littoral combat ship was the USS Freedom, built in 2008 by Marinette Marine and produced by partner Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md. The Freedom was expected to cost $220 million but the final price tag was closer to $550 million.

Defense analysts said at the time it wasn't unusual to have a cost overrun for the lead ship in a new class and said subsequent ships likely would be cheaper.

Kohl said that's precisely what happened. The competition between Marinette Marine and Austal helped drive the prices down, and also spawned innovations that give each company's ships slightly different capabilities, he said. He added the warships would be the "backbone" of the Navy's 300-ship fleet.

Shelby lauded Austal's workmanship but said the Navy's announcement raised larger questions about the policies of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.

"I remain concerned, however, about this new Navy acquisition strategy, how Secretary Mabus reached this decision, and the additional costs this will add to the program," he said in a statement.

A message left with the Navy seeking response from Mabus was not immediately returned.

Levin said the strategy is to provide the Navy more combat ships with the nimble navigation and quick-change weaponry needed to effectively wage modern aquatic warfare.

"We do have to shift from a Cold War mentality, which is aimed at defeating Soviet ships on the high seas, to defeating the 21st century threats, which are coast defense, chasing pirates, supporting troops that might land somewhere," he said.

---

Online:

Marinette Marine: http://www.marinettemarine.com/

Austal USA: http://www.austal.com/

---

Associated Press writers Mike Householder in Detroit and Kendal Weaver in Montgomery, Ala., contributed to this report.